Teardrop of the Wolf

Chapter 23

Water dripped nearby, and a mind-numbing cold seeped into her skin. Her wrists were shackled and the metal chaffed against her skin, rubbing it raw. Dried blood caked her skin and flaked off whenever Mori tried to move. She bit her lip as tears threatened to fall. It felt like a cold fist was squeezing her heart steadily. She swore she would never return to this hell, and yet here she was. 

Mori woke up in this cell with her wrists shackled. She curled her knees up to her chest in an unconscious effort to keep warm when footsteps echoed outside her cell. Two ninja came to stand outside the cell bars.

"The wolfy chick is awake! Hey honey, want to spend some time with me?" one ninja said, and cackled along with his friend.

Mori barely batted an eye as they sauntered away, their laughs echoing throughout the chamber. A shiver went through her, and Mori pressed her forehead against her knees. Her wrists throbbed, and a small whimper escaped from her throat. A little voice in her mind began to nag Mori about giving up, to just lay here and accept her fate. Orochimaru had her presumably still-alive mother, her brother, and now her. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to run. She couldn't run. Her red eyes closed, and her mind began to swirl with thoughts of her pack.

'I'm sorry everyone' Mori thought before drifting off.

"Well now, have we settled in alright? You gave us quite a little fight the other day" Kabuto's voice came through her mind.

Her eyelids fluttered open, but she continued to rest her forehead against her knees. A key rattled, and a sharp 'clank' echoed through the cell. Footsteps came closer to Mori and a hand grasped her white hair. Hard fingers yanked at her tendrils and forced her head back. Mori's glazed and unfocused red eyes met Kabuto's black eyes as he smirked down at her. He reached out with his other hand and grasped her right shackled arm. Before Mori could blink, he wrenched her arm back and her eyes widened as pain raced down her limb. With a crack, her shoulder dislocated. She clenched her teeth to keep a yell down.

"I will get to play with you soon" he said, releasing her arm and hair before walking out.

The cell door slammed shut, and Mori's head rolled forward as her bangs shielded her eyes. Her entire body felt like an empty shell. She felt numb.

Her eyes closed again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mori! Mori! My baby girl, please wake up" a voice said in her ear.

Mori didn't want to. If she opened her eyes, she would have to deal with being part of Kabuto's experiments again. The voice continued again, and she felt her shoulder shaking.

"Mori, open your eyes" the voice said again.

Her eyelids twitched, and then slowly opened. A bleary image of a woman appeared in front of her, and Mori blinked slowly. The woman's image cleared, and Mori's eyes widened.

"Mother?" she whispered as the woman unlocked her shackles.

Her mother's hair was tied loosely at the back, and strands stuck to her forehead. Lines creased around her eyes and mouth, and her high cheekbones jutted out.

"How..." Mori trailed off as the shackles were removed, and Akemi placed gentle hands on her daughters face.

"I had some help from some friends of yours" her mother said as her thumbs rubbed small circles against Mori's cheekbones.

Mori tried to digest this information as she leaned into her mother's touch.

"Hideo...Hideo is here" Mori said as she struggled to her feet.

Her legs began to shake and she stumbled forward, but her mother caught her. Akemi guided her daughter out of the cell and down the hall that led out of the chamber.

"I know he is here. Orochimaru has him under a powerful jutsu" Akemi said as the two walked quickly, the sounds of yells, howls and battling echoing around them.

"I couldn't reach him" Mori whispered in shame as she hung her head.

Her mother tightened her grip on Mori as the mother and daughter pair made it out of the chamber and into another hallway. Animalistic snarls came from large hole in a wall, and Mori lifted her head to see Kakashi's ninja hounds battling against Orochimaru's ninja. Her heart skipped a beat as her friends battled hard, and a flash of grey caught her eye. Apparently Kakashi was here as well.

"Let's go" Mori's mother said as she led her daughter out of the hole.

Mori squinted as the bright sunlight hit her eyes. A cool breeze caressed her skin, and the older woman quickly guided her daughter away from the snake man's lair. As soon as they reached the trees, Mori's legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground. Being in that cell had damaged her not just physically, but mentally as well.

"Mori, come on. I need you to walk just a little bit further for me" Akemi urged as Mori closed her eyes.

No. She couldn't do it anymore. She didn't have the strength to go on.

"Mori, baby listen to me. I need you to shift now" her mother said, her voice holding an alpha-like tone.

With an inaudible groan, Mori weakly searched for her other chakra. A wolf could not go against their alpha's orders. Slowly she shifted, and she rested her furry head against a root of a large tree. Mori sighed weakly as she caught a glimpse of her mother shifting before closing her eyes. A large wet nose pressed against her cheek and her mother huffed affectionately in her ear, causing it to faintly twitch. Her red eye opened slightly, and her mother's white and grey coat entered her vision as Akemi sat back on her haunches. She lifted her muzzle and howled, the notes ringing through Mori's ears and vibrating through her bones. With a painful whine, Mori got to her feet and lifted her own muzzle, adding her voice to her mother's howl.

Their two voices intertwined before tapering off. Her mother gazed at Mori before reaching over and lavishing her ears with her tongue. Akemi's ear twitched, and she turned around to gaze at the lair. She got to her paws and nudged her daughter. She persisted until Mori was slowly padding beside her. She had to get her daughter to safety, but Mori had to keep moving to get to safety. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed how Mori favoured her front leg as she limped heavily. Something must have happened back in the cell. The older wolf just hoped the village her daughter had told her about so many times as a pup was close by.

They would be safe there.